Terry's TMG Tips

An Overview of TMG's Language Capability

This page created 5 May 2006

Version note: Applies to TMG 8 & 9

This article provides a general overview of TMG's Language capabilities, hopefully to create a framework to aid the reader in choosing and applying the specific features required to achieve his or her language objectives.

Other articles, found on the main Languages page, or linked in appropriate places below, provide more detail in using specific features.

The Language feature allows TMG to display all menus and screens in the selected language, and/or to create reports using a selected language. Note that TMG does not undertake to translate any data you enter to another language (other than regular dates). All data you enter will be output in the language in which it was entered, but the phrases created by the report format will be in the selected language.

A "Language" can be:

A real language, such as English, French, or German
A variation of a real language you create in order to modify specific terms or phrases
A "virtual" language that is created only to obtain some specialized formatting of reports.

The Two Parts of TMG's Language Management Capability

The Language capability offered in TMG provides two distinct, but related, areas where Languages can be used. They are:

User Interface – All the screens and menus can be changed to any of several other Languages. TMG's corps of volunteer translators have created translations in several languages for most of the features the user sees in using the program (except Help). There are partial translations of some other languages, and an ambitious user could create a custom translation for any other. If a user just wants to change a few phrases or labels, that can be done as well.
Data Output – Independent of the Language used for the interface, the user can create Reports, Charts, or websites in one of the supplied Languages, or in a custom Language. Choosing a report Language applies the Tag sentences and other attributes for that Language, and also uses that Language for the phrases generated as part of the report format itself.

You may choose to use either or both of these features to meet your language needs. The table below is designed to help find the discussion of the features used for applications.

Choosing the Features for Your Task

Exactly which of the Language features might be useful to you depend on what task you might have in mind. The following suggestions may help:

Objective: Operate the program and create reports in a Language other than English(U.S.)
Set the interface Language to your preferred language Determine whether Sentences are available in your Language or if you will need to create them Understand issues for features not translated If previously used English(U.S.) transfer any custom Sentences and reset any saved reports

Objective: Modify specific terms in the interface or reports
If you use English(U.S.)	Create a custom Language Set the interface Language to your custom Language Edit the custom Language Transfer any custom Sentences and reset any saved reports to that Language
If you use any other Language	Edit your selected Language

Objective: Create a specially formatted narrative report or website

Create a custom Language
Create Sentences in your custom Language
Specify that Language for specific reports or site generation

Objective: Create reports in a language other than the one you normally use in TMG

Understand the issues of reports in multiple languages
Verify that Sentences are available in that language, modify as required
Specify that language for specific reports

Language Issues in Program Upgrade or Re-Install

If you make custom translations of any standard Language, or create a custom Language either to modify certain phrases or to create custom Sentences, you need to be aware of issues than can cause loss of your work by installation of an upgrade to your current version of TMG, by installing a new version of TMG, or by installing TMG on a new computer. See my article on Language Issues in Program Upgrade or Re-Install for instructions on how to avoid these issues.

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